The Sonics have every reason to be proud of their performance Monday at KeyArena, but it still came in defeat. The Sonics are the type of team that need most things to go perfect down the stretch to win, and it almost happened. Kurt Thomas had a chance to put the Sonics up six with just over two minutes left. …

The Sonics need a change because their offense is getting stagnant and two players admitted that after the game. Delonte West and Kurt Thomas both said the Sonics need to adjust their offensive sets because opposing teams are on to what they do. They are denying Kevin Durant and pushing him out to the perimeter and they are doing the same with Wally Szczerbiak. …

OK, let’s get to the injuries. Chris Wilcox will not play tonight because he needs a full practice before P.J. Carlesimo will allow him to return to the court after more than a week off. Wilcox has not played since Jan. 3 and took some shots this morning at shoot-around but did not show Carlesimo that he was comfortable with dunking, grabbing rebounds and catching passes. …

The Sonics had hoped that Chris Wilcox would be able to log some minutes for tonight’s game with the Dallas Mavericks, and while he took some jumpers with his dislocated right pinkie finger taped to his ring finger, he was not in good enough game condition to play and won’t be available. Wilcox, according to head coach P.J. Carlesimo, will try to practice Sunday in hopes of returning Monday against the Los Angeles Lakers. …

The losing is wearing on the Sonics, but also is P.J. Carlesimo’s unpredictable playing rotations and his evaluation process. NBA players are like many other people, they are creatures of routine. They are much more comfortable when they know when they are going in the game and how much they are going to play. It allows for less pressure and more cohesiveness. …

The Sonics competed the whole way but had nothing to stop the New Jersey offense, which can score in so many different ways. The Sonics couldn’t get consistent defensive stops and therefore never made a serious run at the Nets. Richard Jefferson scored 28 points in 30 minutes while Jason Kidd added 16 and 11 assists. …

Neither team looked good in the third quarter and that was worse news for the Sonics, who needed to put a dent into the Nets’ lead. One thing is certain, P.J. Carlesimo is beginning to try different rotations, using Johan Petro extensively and he has 12 points through three quarters while Wally Szczerbiak has played just seven minutes. …